Author: despinao

7 June 2022

Further to our recent update, the local Public Health Unit have requested additional PCR testing on the remaining negative residents in Jacaranda today. These have been completed. We are continuing to consult with them and will provide a further update once the results have been received.

As a reminder, our care home has returned to pre-outbreak arrangement (two fully vaccinated visitors aged 12 years and over, plus two children under 12 years per day). For now, visitation to the Jacaranda wing is limited to one nominated partner-in-care. All visits must be pre-booked. All visitors are required to complete a rapid antigen test as a condition of entry and wear an N95 mask. Partners-in-care may be asked to wear additional PPE at this time such as a face shield. Please refrain from visiting if you are unwell.

On behalf of the team at Whiddon Largs, we sincerely thank you for your cooperation and support over this challenging time.

7 June 2022

Our Everyday Heroes program launched earlier this year as a new and refreshed way of recognising our people! Rather than celebrating once every year, we’re celebrating you three times.

We want to shine a light on our incredible everyday heroes whilst reinforcing to you all, just how valuable you are, and how proud we are of the exceptional work you do.

We recently celebrated the first round of Everyday Heroes, and we’re now preparing to launch the next round. Are you ready? This round, we will be focusing on a different Whiddon value:

Nurturing relationships and communities

Wellbeing for our residents and clients starts with strong relationships.

Everyday Heroes who champion this value work at nurturing these relationships, through showing mutual respect, trust, open communication, teamwork, and proactive support. They make sure everyone they encounter knows that they matter. They work collaboratively to achieve our purpose of making a difference in people’s lives. Sound like someone you know?

While this time we’re highlighting this core value, we still encourage you to nominate anyone who meets any of Whiddon’s values.

How do I nominate? 

Nominating will work in the same way as the last round. All you have to do is answer a few simple questions on how this person has displayed one of the Whiddon values.

You can start by scanning the QR code on the posters you’ll see around our homes and services or CLICK HERE and we’ll do the rest.

Get nominating from today!

7 June 2022

Further to our last update, we’re pleased to share that residents in Merewether are no longer in room isolation, however movement remains restricted to floor level.

Residents in our Dudley wing remain in room isolation while we await further testing results to come back.

We understand that this is a challenging time for everyone, but we want you to know that it is our highest priority to keep everyone in our family safe and well, and we are doing everything we can to achieve this. We will provide a further update once we know more.

We thank you for your understanding and support.

6 June 2022

Please note, we are currently experiencing an Acute Respiratory Infection with Flu like symptoms in our Federation House at Whiddon Moree, and are working closely with the Public Health Unit to manage this outbreak.

As part of our usual screening processes, testing has been completed for all residents to confirm the type of outbreak and are pleased to confirm that initial RAT results are negative for COVID. We currently have residents isolating in their rooms and are monitoring them closely. If this is your loved one, our team will have been in contact with you already.

For now, visitation to our Federation House is limited to one nominated partner-in-care. All visits must be pre-booked. All visitors are required to complete a rapid antigen test as a condition of entry and wear an N95 mask. Partners-in-care may be asked to wear additional PPE at this time such as a face shield. Please refrain from visiting if you are unwell.

We are continuing to monitor the situation and believe our robust procedures have helped in managing any potential spread to other residents and employees within our care home.

We will provide a further update if there are any changes.

6 June 2022

We have had an employee test positive to COVID-19.  This employee had some contact with residents and employees over the last few days whilst wearing PPE. The risk is considered moderate at the moment, but all residents and employees are feeling well. We have contacted visitors who may have come into contact with the employee, by phone, to advise them to monitor for symptoms.

For now, there are no changes to visitation, resident activities or outings.

We will provide a further update if there are any changes.

3 June 2022

Further to our previous update, we have continued to work the the local Public Health Unit.

From tomorrow, based on the advice of the Public Health Unit, we will be offering window visits on Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 8:30am-2:00pm. These must be pre-booked.

We will continue working with the local Public Health Unit and provide another update once we know more.

We want to thank you for your understanding and patience during this time.

3 June 2022

We’re please to share that since our last update, we have not had any further positive test results come back from employees who have been tested. We are also seeing employees return to work which is great news!

In addition, we have not had any residents test positive to COVID-19.

We continue to work with the Public Health Unit, and remain in exposure mode for now. We plan to revisit this early next week.

Visitation is still permitted for now. We ask that all visitors undertake rapid antigen testing as a condition of entry to Whiddon Narrabri Robert Young and wear an N95 mask and face shield, which will be provided upon entry to the home. Visits must be pre-booked. Please do not meet in any common areas and refrain from visiting if you are unwell.

We thank you for your understanding and support.

3 June 2022

We are pleased to advise you that the COVID-19 outbreak at Whiddon Grafton has been declared over by the local Public Health Unit. This is welcome news. We sincerely thank you for your understanding and support during this time.

As of Monday, 6 June, visitors will be welcomed back into our care home. As a reminder, please ensure that you pre-book your visits and refrain from visiting if you are unwell. You will be required to wear an N95 mask when you visit and complete a rapid antigen test as a condition of entry.

We thank our employees for their ongoing dedication and work to keep our residents, visitors and employees safe. And again, we thank you for your support and understanding. This is very much appreciated by our team.

10 June 2022

Whiddon is participating in an exciting project called Design for Care. The project is being led by researchers and psychologists from Curtin University (Perth) and the University of Sydney. This project will help us better understand how to support wellbeing in the aged care sector and provide you with an even better employee experience.

We will be holding a session on Tuesday, 14 June at 2.30pm at Whiddon Moree and encourage you to attend. Below is more information about the Design for Care Survey.

We also have a video for you which you can watch here: Design for Care

3 June 2022

Dear Team,

As you will be aware there was a site audit conducted by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission from the 10^th-12^th May, 2022. We have received feedback from the Audit and as a result there are several issues that need to be addressed.

The Auditors picked up issues with the following:-

1. Staff compliance to Mask Wearing – As a reminder staff must wear their masks covering their nose and mouth and avoid touching their mask while it is on.
2. Bare below the elbow – Infection control practices were breached and staff were observed to be wearing long sleeves, have watches and other jewellery on and staff were observed to have long acrylic nails. It is essential that staff comply with Whiddon’s “Bare below the elbow” strategy to help minimise the risk of infection to not only our residents, but also to eachother.
3. Documentation and Sharing of Information at handover – In some areas our documentation was lacking and importantly, specific resident related strategies to minimise behaviours was not shared adequately at handover. Moving forward, we will revisit how we share this important information to ensure that this is passed on to all of our team members to assist with behaviour management strategies.
4. Education – It was identified that many of Wingham’s staff have not completed their Mandatory Training. As a reminder it is also a condition of employment that staff keep up to date with their Mandatory Training requirements. As a result of this, all staff will be required to complete Mandatory Training on the following subjects by September 1^st
   1. Complaints Management
   2. Dignity of Risk
   3. Infection Control
   4. SIRS
   5. Restrictive Practices
   6. Quality Standards
5. Facility Cleanliness and Clutter – The general cleanliness and clutter throughout the facility was raised by the Auditors. It is important that we all work together on this as many of the issues identified were a result of poor staff practice eg wet towels left on the floor, rubbish on the floor, broken items left in use, wheelchairs and other equipment dirty.
6. Smoking Areas – Please note that both residents and staff can only smoke in designated smoking areas. This is to ensure appropriate distance is kept from equipment, the building and chemicals.

Please note that these matters can be addressed fairly quickly and easily, however we do need to come together to achieve this. By doing this we will also help support our residents to live a comfortable and safe life.

Kerrie Paul
Deputy Director of Care Service
Whiddon Wingham